5 Things to Check Before Letting AI Edit Your Spreadsheet
AI tools for spreadsheets are powerful, but they can also cause problems if you're not careful. Here are 5 checks to make before letting AI modify your data.
AI Is Powerful. Unchecked AI Is Dangerous.
AI tools for Google Sheets can save you hours of manual work. But they can also overwrite formulas, corrupt data structures, and expose sensitive information — all in seconds.
Before you let any AI tool modify your spreadsheet, run through these five checks.
1. Does the Tool Offer Undo?
This is the single most important question. If an AI tool modifies 500 cells and the result is wrong, can you reverse it?
Most AI tools for Sheets have no undo capability. Once the AI writes to your cells, your only option is Ctrl+Z (which may not work for bulk changes) or restoring from version history (which loses all recent changes).
What to look for: Step-by-step undo that lets you reverse individual actions, not just all-or-nothing rollback.
2. Does It Check for Sensitive Data?
Your spreadsheet might contain customer emails, phone numbers, addresses, or even Social Security numbers. Most AI tools send your cell data to external APIs without any warning.
What to look for: Automatic PII (Personally Identifiable Information) detection that warns you before data is processed. This is especially important for teams handling HIPAA, GDPR, or other regulated data.
3. Are Generated Formulas Validated?
AI can confidently generate formulas using functions that don't exist in Google Sheets. The result? #NAME? errors scattered across your sheet.
What to look for: Formula validation against a known function library. For example, SheetMind validates against 120+ Google Sheets functions before applying any formula.
4. What Data Does It Send to the Cloud?
Understand exactly what data leaves your sheet when you use an AI tool:
- Cell-function tools typically send only the cells you reference
- Sidebar tools may send larger portions of your sheet for context
- RAG-enabled tools may index your sheet data in a vector database
None of this is inherently bad, but you should know what's happening. Check the tool's privacy policy.
5. Can You Verify the AI's Sources?
When an AI tool says "Revenue increased 23% in Q4", where did that number come from? Can you trace it back to specific cells?
What to look for: Source linking that references specific rows and ranges. Even better — clickable source links that navigate you directly to the cited data.
A Quick Checklist
Before letting AI edit your spreadsheet:
- [ ] Back up your sheet (or verify the tool has undo)
- [ ] Check for sensitive data in the affected range
- [ ] Review the AI's proposed changes before applying
- [ ] Verify source references for any claimed insights
- [ ] Test with a small range before processing the full sheet
The Safest Approach
Use a tool that's built with safety as a core feature, not an afterthought. SheetMind is the only AI tool for Google Sheets that offers all five safety features: step-by-step undo, PII detection, formula validation, source verification, and transparent data handling.